


Sideswiped

by SophiaHawkins



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, sevasey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29395470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophiaHawkins/pseuds/SophiaHawkins
Summary: Casey saw it coming, too fast to do anything about, too fast to even think. The next thing he knew, he was flat on the ground, a blinding pain reverberating through his entire head, his vision was blurry, he couldn't focus on anything. He thought he heard himself screaming, but he wasn't sure even of that.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Sideswiped

Sideswiped

Casey saw it coming, too fast to do anything about, too fast to even think.

The next thing he knew, he was flat on the ground, a blinding pain reverberating through his entire head, his vision was blurry, he couldn't focus on anything. He thought he heard himself screaming, or maybe just moaning, but he wasn't sure even of that. He felt a ringing in his ears...or maybe he heard it, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was both. Either way it about blocked out everything else.

Faintly he heard someone else's voice, Kelly...it was Kelly, where was he? He sounded close.

Casey saw someone standing over him but the picture didn't get any clearer, but he could tell it was Kelly's voice. He tried to talk, tried to ask Kelly what happened, but no words came.

His eyes closed, and opened, and closed, and opened again, he wasn't sure if it was all at once or if it was over some length of time. Things looked clearer now, Kelly's face finally came into focus, and he looked worried. It was almost an afterthought Casey realized Kelly sounded as worried as he looked, maybe even more so. He was aware Kelly was talking to him, but the words still weren't quite registering. He saw Kelly's black gloved hands reaching up, for what? Oh, he felt them pulling his helmet off, why? Kelly was grimacing as he did it, he moved slowly, why? He was still talking to Casey, and still Matt couldn't make out what he was saying. He tried to talk himself but no coherent sounds came out, just a bunch of long moans.

He must've closed his eyes again, because when he opened them he was looking straight up now. He must've been more on his side before, he didn't know, his whole body felt like lead, he didn't think he could move it if he tried. He was looking straight up, the sun was blocked out. Now it wasn't just Kelly, there were several people standing over him, all looking down at him, all with varying degrees of the same look of panic on Kelly's face. They were talking to him too, he could hear them, but he couldn't decipher what anybody was saying, he tried to talk to them, no words formed. A bright light shone in his eyes and blinded him, he tried to reach up with both hands and strangle the person responsible, but his arms felt like lead too. They felt like all the circulation had gone out of them, just two slabs of dead weight.

_"Casey? Casey, can you hear me?"_

That was Kelly. The fact that he could finally understand what Severide was saying struck Casey as underwhelming, like it was no big deal.

He felt hands on him, they were trying to get his turnout coat off, why? He felt more hands on him, they were taking his pants off too, and his boots, _why_? Somebody grabbed him by the head, he especially didn't understand why. That one was answered a few seconds later when a C-collar was put on him, again, _why_? That was the one word that kept pulsing through his brain, why? Why any of this? Why was everyone hovering over him? Why couldn't he talk? Why was his skull throbbing? Why was he in this horrific pain that wouldn't stop? Why was his heart racing in his chest? Why...he let out a jolted yelp as he felt them pick him up and transfer him onto a backboard, _why_? Where was he going? What was going on?

His teeth were throbbing, they felt like somebody took a hammer to them, his gums vibrated, all the way up to the top of his skull. What did it mean? Why wouldn't it end? He couldn't feel himself moving but he saw the scenery above him changing as he realized they were moving him. As they did, he heard a strange sound he could hardly even make out, it took a while to realize it was a long moaning cry, and it took a while longer to realize it was coming from himself. Someone was talking to him, he didn't know who, he didn't care, he just barely registered the fact one of the paramedics was hovered over him talking to him, he wanted them to shut up, he wanted everyone to shut up, his skull was killing him. He heard another voice, he just barely caught sight of Kelly in the corner of his eye, Kelly was still with him, but where were they going?

* * *

Casey picked up a familiar scent in his nose, oxygen mask plastic, after all these years he was practically an expert on it. He felt his breath coming out in condensation against the plastic. He raised his hands and fumbled around for the elastic strap wrapped around the back of his head to try and remove it, his shoulders burned in protest at trying to reach that far. He tried opening his eyes, only then realizing they were closed.

The familiar image of a hospital room came into view. What was he doing here? He felt very strange, he couldn't even describe it, just something didn't feel right. He tried turning his head. He vaguely remembered being collared, it was gone, thank God for small favors. Turning his head, he was surprised to see Kelly sitting in the chair beside the hospital bed... _his_ hospital bed?

A look of shocked relief came over Severide's face. "Hey, buddy, how're you feeling?"

"Wha..." Casey could hardly even hear himself through the mask, he reached up again and grabbed it around his mouth and pulled it off, "what happened?"

"Do you remember?" Kelly asked.

Matt tried to think. They'd be on a call, they'd just rolled up, it was a building fire, Engine had gotten their lines unrolled, hooked up to the hydrants, Casey and his guys were getting ready to head in for a primary search...and...and...

He'd heard the screams. He turned in time to see the car that had run over the line, and he'd seen it whip around once it got loose from the underside of the car, and saw the nozzle end of it coming right at him.

He felt himself shaking in the bed as it all came back to him.

"You got damn lucky," Kelly told him, and Casey could tell from his tone that Kelly had been as terrified by what happened as he was.

Almost a reflex, Casey brought his hand up and felt along his face for any obvious signs of damage. His teeth were intact, his nose was still in its rightful place, his blood turned cold as he remembered the impact of it. "My head..."

"You got lucky," Kelly repeated, and told him, "The nozzle hit the side of your helmet, knocked it loose."

Thank God, it had hit the wrong side to inflict any new damage on Casey's old head injury from years ago. Kelly had about fainted dead away when this little piece of good news was delivered to them in the waiting room. He'd seen the hose fly around and saw the nozzle hit Casey, and he'd been scared to death what he would find. His first relief was when he saw Casey's whole face was still intact, but they hadn't known yet what the actual damage was, and he was scared to death at what they might've found when he took Casey's helmet off.

"The docs said basically you just got your bell rung, they already did the brain scans, didn't find any damage," Kelly said. "They still want to keep you overnight for observation."

"I'm fine," Casey said as he pushed the sheet back, swung his legs over the rail of the bed and pushed himself to his feet, "Let's get out of here," he took one step and suddenly felt wobbly.

Kelly grabbed him and pulled him back onto the bed, "You're going to stay put and do what the doctor says, Boden's already taken you off-duty for the rest of the shift. Casey, you scared the hell out of me."

"It scared the hell out of _me_ ," Casey replied. "I saw it coming, but I...I..."

He froze. Another inch or so, and he'd be dead.

Kelly wasn't sure exactly how to tell Casey that he hadn't exactly frozen to the spot. He didn't have time to try and get out of the way, but he'd turned to the side, which was why the nozzle had only hit the side of his helmet at less than full impact, instead of pulverizing his whole face.

Casey felt his legs shaking and said absently, "I need to sit down."

"Matt, you _are_ sitting down," Kelly calmly pointed out.

"I am?" Casey looked down, "oh..."

"How're you feeling?"

"My...my teeth are still throbbing...my gums are pulsating...is...is that normal?"

"We'll ask the doc when she comes by," Kelly said as he sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on Casey's shoulder, "What she said was you actually sustained very little damage from the hit...the main issue is you were in a full blown panic attack... _that's_ why they put you on oxygen, _and_ sedated you."

"What?" Casey turned to him, "Sedated?"

"They had to, you were flipping out the whole way here," Kelly told him.

"Of course I was," Casey replied, "I...I..."

All firefighters knew the importance of keeping traffic away from the lines, what could happen if the hoses got tangled up from a passing car, you get hit in the head by one of those nozzles, either you were dead, your skull was fractured, all the bones in your face were broken and your teeth knocked out, more than a few firefighters had died that way over the years, that was why these days they blocked off the corners where the lines were hooked up.

"Wha...what happened anyway?" Casey asked, "Who..."

Kelly shook his head, "Engine did everything by the book, some idiot drove through the road block anyway, went through so quick nobody could even identify the car to the cops."

Casey felt his whole body shaking and all his flesh breaking out in goosebumps, he pressed his hands against his shoulders trying to steady himself, but to no avail. "Kelly...Kelly..."

"Hey, hey," Kelly draped an arm over Casey's shoulders, "it's alright, you're okay, just take a deep breath, it's okay, you're going to be fine."

"Oh...God," Casey's voice was shaking as he pressed himself against Kelly, "I was so scared..."

"I know, so was I," Kelly told him, "I saw you go down, and you weren't moving."

Casey started wheezing as his breaths became short and rapid.

"Calm down, Matt," Kelly grabbed the oxygen mask, "put this back on and try to take a deep breath."

Casey wouldn't put the mask on again but held it against his mouth and nose and breathed in the oxygen.

"I thought I was dead," he told Kelly.

"I know," Severide responded in a very small, very terrified voice.

Casey turned and pressed his head in the crook of Severide's shoulder, he felt Kelly's hand pressed against his cheek.

A shaky sob worked loose as Casey confessed with obvious difficulty, "I thought...I was...gonna...die..."

"I know," Kelly struggled to blink back tears, "So did I."

They held onto one another for several minutes before either of them was able to calm down.

When Kelly finally pulled away from Casey, his own voice was shaky as he looked Matt in the eyes and told him, "You're okay...you're okay."

Casey looked at him and asked, "What about you? You need to get back to 51."

"Actually...Boden agreed it would be better if _somebody_ was here to keep an eye on you," Kelly told him, "so he called in a replacement Squad lieutenant for the rest of shift."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, he wanted to make sure you didn't do something stupid like, deciding you're fine and try slipping out of here when no one was looking," Kelly said.

Casey laughed. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too, buddy," Kelly replied, "Me too."


End file.
